Snuggles
by The Moose Warren
Summary: Steam Powered Giraffe fic. Snuggle time was the best time for Paige.


Snuggle time was the best time for Paige.

She didn't know why, but Rabbit always seemed to be the best at giving hugs and cuddles, especially when she really needed them. The heat that his boiler gave off that radiated through his chest was toastier than any other place around the Walter Manor.

Her fondest memory of such snuggles was a time in the dead of winter in which she'd caught a terrible cold that had knocked her flat on her back with its intensity. She was literally stuck in bed all day, shivering uncontrollably and sniffling pitifully. Needless to say, the automatons were stuck in a useless frenzied mess trying to care for her. The Spine was the most useful of the all of them, bringing her water and things Brianna had presumably told him would help her.

Hatchworth was helpful, too, always bringing her his famous sandwiches all hours of the day. There were more than she could ever attempt to eat, but the thought was so sweet that she couldn't help but love the sweet little bespectacled 'bot.

Rabbit, however...well...Paige was sure his heart was in the right place.

A bowl full of warmed oil with bits of diced chicken floating around in it, though...it was less than useful. Especially since he was absolutely certain that she was dying.

She was sprawled out in her bed large enough for three people-she liked her space, after all-the sheets pulled up around her midsection. She was terribly cold, but refused to admit that to anyone. She already felt that she was being too much of a bother to everyone, especially since she'd left only Michael and Brianna to care for the three unruly automatons. Rabbit sat criss-cross at the edge of her bed, holding the bowl of "soup" in his gloved hands, intent on feeding every drop to his Walter Girl.

"Rabbit," She started nasally for what seemed to be the thousandth time, "Sweetheart, I'm not dying. It's just a cold. I'll be fine in a few days, I promise," She smiled at him, sniffling a bit.

Rabbit wasn't convinced in the slightest. In his mind, Paige needed his medical expertise to recover from whatever malfunction that had overtaken her. However, he just wasn't sure how to fix a cold. Hence his idea of Paige's oncoming death.

"But you are!" He exclaimed, setting the bowl of hot oil on her already sandwich and water covered night stand. "Y-y-you're snifflin' and stuff! That's n-not good at all!" He set a hand on her forehead, pushing her dark black and blue bangs out of the way, wishing he could tell if she was warm or not. He went with his best guess. "S-s-see! You're burnin' up! One time The Spine got all warm 'n' such, and he didn't wake up for a long time! Mistah Reed couldn't figure out what was wr-wr-wr-wrong with 'im for a while. But th-th-then we figured out that Hatchy switched out th-the quesadillas with poison sammiches. B-b-boy, lemme tell ya'. Ya' gotta watch out for them poison sammiches. Pappy got bitten by one of them a loooooong time ago. Wait...what w-w-was I talkin' about?"

At this point, Paige had stopped listening to Rabbit's ramblings and was focusing on the glorious heat that radiated from his boiler to every point in his body. It felt wonderful on her forehead, causing her shivers to cease for a second.

Rabbit noticed this, of course.

He was afraid he'd killed her.

"M-M-Miss Paige?" He questioned suddenly, cutting off mid-ramble and removing his hand from her forehead. Unwantedly, thoughts of Pappy's death flashed into his memory, setting large amounts of steam through his vents. The steam warmed the cold room slightly and felt lovely on Paige's skin.

"I'm still here, Rabbit," She finally answered, sitting up slightly. "N-no need to worry," Her shivers added more effect to her words, "J-j-just a bit cold,"

"OH!" Rabbit cried out, jumping off of the bed, "Why didn't cha' say so! I-I-I've got a couple of blankets somewhere!"

He would have been out the door faster than The Spine could say, "You can't ride a quesadilla," if Paige hadn't desperately held onto the back of his shirt, tugging onto it.

"No!" She wailed without thinking. Rabbit turned back, a quizzical look shaping his faceplates. Paige automatically felt foolish and embarrassed for shouting out such a thing, but continued in the only way she could think of, "I-I mean, it's just that...you're actually really warm..." She muttered, not daring to meet those green and blue optics that were shining on her face.

Faster than she could perceive, Rabbit was there next to her on the bed, his faceplates more serious than she'd seen in such a long time. "W-w-well why didn't ya' say so! Pappy made c-certain that my boiler is w-w-warmer than the other guys so that I could be u-u-useful ta Miss Delilah as a heater, too. T-t-turns out sh-she didn't really need it...but it really helped Pappy when he g-g-got sick!" He smiled proudly at this, glad that he'd been useful to his Pappy in some way, and glad that he could help Paige some way, too.

He settled in next to her, crossing his arms behind his head and letting her lean into him. A contented sigh escaped her lips as the heat began to warm her chilled body. Rabbit grinned that patented Rabbit grin of his and started off into a story of a pilot who was part plane, part girl, and all woman; a marksman who taught jackalopes to yodel, and a captain who did amazing things too great to be real. For the first time in days, Paige fell into a warm and quiet sleep, dreams of impossible things filling her head.

Paige recovered completely from her cold a day later and went back to work. However, she didn't stop enjoying the warmth of Rabbit and his amazing stories. It became a tradition for the two of them to enjoy hours together, just sitting and talking, holding each other close. Rabbit loved each moment of it, knowing that such happiness couldn't last forever, but he would make the time he had with his Paige worth it.

Snuggle time was the best time for Paige.

But it was also the best time for Rabbit, as well.

Neither of them would have it any other way.


End file.
